(Un?)Necessary Lessons
by Pata Hikari
Summary: All Akane wanted was to be a better martial artist. When Ranma tries to help her, neither of them realized the Law of Unintended Consequences would soon rear its ugly head.
1. The Wedding of Ranma Saotome

Prologue: The Wedding of Ranma Saotome

The tuxedo itched. Ranma had never noticed it before, but this suit was incredibly uncomfortable. The last time he had worn it it had not felt that way, but this time he noticed every crease and each spot that rubbed him the wrong way.

He glanced quietly around the room. He almost found it funny, nearly nobody looked happy. The few guests that were there were all frowning. Some were looking around nervously or in expectation of something exploding. In all honesty he would have welcomed that. Sadly, Kodachi was in Hawaii at the moment. Shampoo and Ukyo had both given up on him well before this wedding was hastily put together. He expected they were both consoling **her **right about now.

He looked over at his current and future family. Soun's expression was serious and grim, while Nabiki's was near unreadable. He did detect the faintest hint of disdain in her sharp eyes though. Genma was, unusually enough to anybody who knew about his attempts to get his son to marry a Tendo the past year, openly glaring at his usual partner-in-crime. The only reason he was not acting to stop this farce was the only person who looked happy about this event. His mother, Nodoka, was smiling cheerfully as she looked over the groom and the bride. The Saotome Family Blade was unwrapped and sitting openly in her lap, a constant reminder of what would happen if either man in the family went against the program tonight.

Finally, his gaze drifted over to the bride.

He supposed, objectively speaking, she was pretty in that wedding dress. But the sight of her did nothing to excite him. She was not the one he wanted. The woman walking towards him was not the one whom he had dreamed about. She was not the one that had lit a passion in him he had never felt before. She was not the one he wanted to marry. She was not the one he loved.

Kasumi looked up at him through the wedding veil, her expression once again apologetic. He wondered how many times she had apologized. He had told her time and again that this wasn't her fault, that both of them were being forced into this. He wished, not for the first time, that the previous wedding had managed to succeed. He wished that he had possessed the guts to go through it the first time, despite the potential embarrassment of confronting his feelings. He wished he had done it despite the explosions and the fighting. If he had then things would be better for everyone right now.

If he had just told Akane he loved her, then he would be married right now. She would be his wife, and this would not be happening. She would be with him, like he had wished for the longest time. Their parents would have no more power over them, and Akane would be happy. Akane would be loved.

Akane would not be crying, alone, disowned of her family name and cast out.

* * *

_Yes, another Ranma fic. I just couldn't get this one out of my head. It's not too bad. ½ Ranma is on hold and The Most Beautiful Women in The World is also coming along nicely. I'm going to try and keep a schedule for this one. Hopefully expect once a week updates._


	2. Talent Show

Part 1: Talent Show

The early morning air's quiet was broken by a familiar sound to those who had lived in the neighborhood for long enough. The sound of well worn sneakers hitting the pavement. The quiet breaths of exertion. The familiar sight of the young woman running through the streets brought a smile to the faces of the long time residents. Akane Tendo had been doing this run in the morning since she was ten years old. Now seventeen, the habit had become a familiar and comforting start to the day. She noted, as she reached the gates to her house, that she would probably have to increase the intensity of her run soon, her current route and speed had become too easy.

* * *

In the backyard of the Tendo household, another was having his morning workout. The young man blocked a punch from his father before launching out a kick of his own. This had been his morning routine for as long as he remembered. A quick sparring session with his father before breakfast, followed by school. Ranma Saotome knew his father well, every trick Genma had ever pulled he knew and knew the counters to. Granted, Genma had taught Ranma near everything **he **knew and the counters to those. As such each session was an old familiar action, one more for simply keeping in shape then advancing their respective abilities. He threw out a quick combination of punches, a handful getting through his guard. Before the fight could resolve itself, Kasumi called out that it was breakfast time.

Instantly the fight stopped, because interfering with a meal was a line that the Saotomes would not cross. With a nod the two headed inside to the table. As Ranma was heading over, Akane walked in fresh from her morning run. "Good morning." She said to him, smiling.

"Hey." Ranma said, taking a moment to appreciate the sight of his fiancee fresh from exercise. She always wore a tight tank top and shorts for her morning run. He could see a lot of details about her curves and it clung closely to her toned stomach. With a smile he took a brief glance at her exposed toned legs.

Akane was enjoying the sight as well. He wore a sleeveless t-shirt, showing off his firm muscular arms. Her smile widened as she saw his gaze drift over her. He hadn't made any insulting comments on her looks for a while now.

"You, um… your hair's getting a little long." Ranma said.

"Hmm?" Akane raised a hand to brush the back of her hair. It had been some time since she got a haircut. Her dark hair now reached down to her shoulders. Not near as long as it was when they first met, but still longer than it had been. "Yeah. Maybe I should get it cut soon…" She gave him a sly smirk, "I think I remember somebody saying I look cute with short hair… maybe I should ask his opinion?

Ranma felt his face heat up, "Ah… well…"

"If you two are done flirting can we eat?" Nabiki said dryly.

The two glared at her but sat down, breakfast quickly put in front of the gathered family. "So the summer break's starting next week." Ranma said, "Anybody have any plans?"

Nodoka spoke up, "I don't think so, Son." She glanced over at Genma and Soun, "Do you two have any plans?"

Genma shrugged, "Maybe a training tr-" He stopped talking when he noticed his wife's glare. "Err.. nothing." Training trips had become forbidden by unspoken rule since Nodoka had returned to the Saotome's lives.

"I suppose this summer we'll all just be relaxing at home then." Nodoka said.

"That sounds fine to me." Akane said. "We'll find things to do."

"I bet you two will." Nabiki said, causing the engaged couple to glare at her again.

"Come on Ranma, we need to get ready for school." Akane stood up, ignoring her sister's smirk.

* * *

In a few short minutes the two got dressed, picked up their lunches, and headed out the door. Ranma noticed that today she had tied her hair into a ponytail, he had to admit it looked cute on her. He wondered if she would cut it and when. Granted, from Ranma's perspective near any hairstyle looked good on her. It made him feel a little warm inside to know she desired his opinion on her looks though.

In their eagerness to get away from Nabiki they were much earlier for school then usual. Did she have to make those innuendos? Ranma and Akane were both perfectly happy with the current state of their relationship. Which, at the moment, consisted of mainly spending time together and the occasional glance and smile. There hadn't been any dramatic confessions of love or anything like that, but neither of them felt it was needed.

Still, Akane gave him a smile and slightly held out her hand. Ranma looked down at it, before slowly grasping it. Her eyes shone, and Ranma knew he had done the right thing. The two walked to school side by side.

* * *

They reached the gates of Furinkan to a sight that was both familiar and incredibly _annoying _to Akane.

Namely a crowd of around two dozen boys, charging at her and screaming battle cries and declarations of love.

Ranma's jaw dropped. What were these idiots doing? Hadn't they given up on his fiancee already? Why were they trying again? Before he could inflict his righteous anger on the perverts Akane leapt ahead of him and into action.

"Oh my god get out of my way you perverts!" She shouted as she delivered an axe kick to the chin of the captain of the soccer team.

Ranma stood back and smiled. He had to admit, Akane could handle these morons. It was always a pleasure watching her fight. He pulled out a box of pocky as he watched her demolish the group with a level of brutality that would make a lesser man cry. (Several did). A guy on the baseball team swung a bat at her. This was a mistake. She tore it out of his hands, knocked him out with it, sending him flying farther than the rest. With a battle cry she then broke the bat over some poor fool's head. She continued the fight, expression fierce and each movement filled with power. He would never tell anyone this, but half the reason he used to tease Akane so much was that she was **really **hot when she got mad. He watched gleefully as the last pervert was knocked into the happy land of unconsciousness.

Finally, the ringleader of this sad squad emerged from the shadows. Akane's personal stalker and wannabe kendo master Tatewaki Kuno. "Ah, fair Akane Tendo, your beauty is like that if a proud lioness. Swift, powerful, sure, and- oooph!" He was interrupted by Ranma landing on top of his head.

"Morning Upperclassman." Ranma said, finishing off his pocky.

"Upperclassman Kuno what **are **you doing?" Akane snapped, pulling him out from under Ranma and holding him up by the collar.

"Ah my beloved Akane Tendo. How sweet your whisperings are." Kuno said.

Akane glanced at Ranma, "I think you hit him in the head too much.

Ranma shrugged, "He was like this way before I showed up."

She shook her head and glanced back to the man being held up by her. "Kuno! What were you thinking? I know you're the one who herded these perverts."

"Ah, it is true." Kuno said, pulling out a rose and sniffing it dramatically, "Tis I who bravely gathered your myriad weak and foolish suitors, to revive the noble ritual of courting you."

"I don't need to be courted Kuno. I'm engaged." Akane said. Also, she would never consider dating any idiot who thought that attacking her in the morning counted as courtship. But she had tried telling that to these walking hormones before, it never stuck.

"Ah my love, you do not need to have that lie forced upon you any longer." Kuno said, his expression enlightened, "I know very well that the dishonorable and false engagement to the base Saotome has been annulled!"

"**What!?"** Ranma pulled Kuno out of Akane's grip, pulling him up by the collar to his face. "The hell are you talking about?"

"Hah! You tried to hide it Saotome, and you managed to fool even me for some time! But I know!" Kuno said with a smug grin, "It came to me, yesterday. I was meditating in the presence of my loves," He had been ogling the photos of Akane and the "Pigtailed Girl" he had plastered all over his room. "When it occurred to me that the alleged engagement you claim to hold over Akane was destroyed months ago, by my own hand!"

"Yeah Kuno said you guys broke up!" One of the boys shouted.

Akane felt her eye twitch, "You mean how you and your sister showed up and crashed **my **wedding? That really made you think we broke up?"

"You're an even bigger idiot than I thought." Ranma shook his head and let Kuno go.

"Oh, and Upperclassman?" Akane said sweetly.

"Yes my love?" Kuno said, grasping her hands.

"Even if I was single," She drew back her fist, "There's no way in hell I'd date you!" At those words she threw out an uppercut to the jaw, knocking the Blue Thunder out cold. Akane cast a glare around at all the boys around her, before pointedly walking over and grabbing Ranma's hand. "Come on Ranma, we don't want to be late." The two then went inside the building, Akane half dragging her fiance.

* * *

By lunch time the irritation of the morning had been forgotten. Akane was cheerfully engaging in girl talk with her friends, leaving Ranma to fend for himself for lunch today. As he opened the lunchbox Kasumi had packed, he was left to think about the events of this morning.

Watching Akane had been fun, but now that it was over his mind went into an analytic mode. He thought about **how **Akane had fought. He mentally went over the details of the battle, taking note of how she had moved and when. She was definitely much faster and stronger than she had been the last time the horde of boys had attacked. Several blows she had launched had been so fast that the average person would only see a blur. A single strike sent them flying, and even her reflexes had improved greatly. By Ranma's estimation she was as fast and strong as he had been around a year before he had met her the first time. Which was no mean feat. He felt a smile of pride come at just how strong his fiancee was. But then his smile faded as he thought about how she had put that strength and speed to use. Her form had not really improved **at all.** He saw that her offense and defense were still filled with holes, several of them he recognized from the very first day he had met her.

Akane had been able to get by against those boys because of her extreme physical ability, but against an opponent who could match her speed and strength she would not last long at all. Except that did not make sense. How could anybody improve their base abilities so much while barely improving their skill? Had Akane simply hit her skill limit? He had seen it before, people whose natural ability finally hit a wall, and they simply stopped improving greatly from then on. Except if that was the case he would have expected Akane to not have gotten so much faster.

He groaned, this entire mess made no sense. The only way he could see it working is if Akane had spent the past year and a half doing exclusively strength, speed, and endurance training without having any focus on skill. Which made no sense for a martial artist. He decided that tonight he'd simply join Akane in her own practice session to see just what the deal was.

* * *

"Hah!" With a loud crack, Akane crushed the stack of bricks. She smiled as she looked over the broken pile. It was a nice, relaxing way to start her practice session. Picking up the broom she swept up the rubble with the ease of someone who had done this countless times.

"Evening." A voice called out.

Akane looked up from her clean up to see Ranma standing in the doorway. He was dressed up in his gi. "Hey." She waved to him before finishing up her sweep, dumping the bits of brick into a trash can tucked away in the mostly unused changing room.

"Can I join you?" Ranma asked.

"Sure." Akane said, a bit surprised. Ranma's training schedule was different than hers, so they rarely practiced together despite a shared love of martial arts. "Any reason you want to?"

Ranma shrugged, "Just felt like it." He glanced at the broom in his hand and grinned, "You know, I'm pretty sure breaking bricks is a bit beyond you. Maybe you should try some boulders?"

Akane laughed, "Oh come on Ranma. I'm not nearly good enough for that. I'm not like Ryoga… I tried something like that before. Broke my hand remember?"

"You've gotten a lot tougher since then, I bet." Ranma said sincerely.

Akane blushed at the complement, "Ah, um, I'm not that great…" She smiled a little though, "Anyways, I just do it because it's fun and a relaxing way to start the session. Kind of a warm up, you know?"

"I guess I can get that." A smirk formed, "It fits that your warm up is so violent."

Akane lightly slapped him on the back of the head. "Dummy." She said warmly.

Ranma laughed, before taking a few deep breaths. Closing his eyes, he began moving through one of the Saotome School Forms. It was an old familiar one he used for his own warm up, but to Akane it was still an impressive feat of agility and skill that felt simply beyond her.

It was an old and familiar feeling, the jealousy never did go away. She watched him for a moment, appreciating the strength he displayed with every movement. More than once Akane had wished that she had been able to train at the same intensity. The cost might have been high, but Akane would have gladly taken a lack of a regular childhood in return for Ranma's abilities. She sighed as she started performing some punches and kicks against an imagined opponent. She had never told Ranma this, but before he had shown up she had only practiced three or four days a week instead of the every day she did now.

She had always loved Martial Arts, but there had always had been some concern that felt more pressing. Hanging out with friends, helping out at school, even things like shopping and heading to the arcade. Ranma had lit a fire in her, driving her to improve as much as possible. Even if, to her frustration, it seemed that no matter how hard she trained everybody around her improved at an even faster rate. She shook her head at the bitter thoughts before launching a three punch combination. It didn't do any good to blame others for simply being better than her. She'd just have to train harder!

She didn't notice that Ranma was now watching her attack. He noticed her movements and saw the flaws. With a grin, he snuck up to her side, watching her face twist in determination. With a quiet chuckle he threw out a slow, to him, kick.

To Akane's credit she felt the attack and instinctively shifted to a guard However. Ranma knew right away that her guard was flawed and was able to bypass it and strike her in the side. It wasn't a hard hit, but Akane was stunned by the attack nonetheless. She stumbled back in shock. "Ranma you…?" It wasn't the first time they sparred, but Ranma usually either didn't attack at all or went for grappling moves to pin her down when they did.

"What?" Ranma said with a grin.

Akane's jaw clenched in determination. She didn't know why Ranma decided to test her, but she wouldn't let him down! She threw out a quick series of punches, trying to get a hit in. Ranma deflected each strike with ease. She threw out a kick and he twisted just barely out of the way. He went on the offense, bypassing her own blows and landing countless light strikes on her shoulders. She knew he was holding back on her. Of course he was, if he wasn't she'd be battered and beaten already. She threw out a few more attacks, but Ranma decided to end the little match. Deflecting the strikes he bypassed her guard completely, slipping behind her and pinning her arms and body against the dojo wall. Akane winced as she realized he had easily lead her exactly where he wanted her to be. "I yield." She said quietly. "You held back so much…"

Ranma let her go and shrugged, "Yeah. I made sure not to go any faster than you did."

This made Akane scowl, "You… you what? You were moving only as fast as me!? But… but I couldn't do anything.. and you…" Akane slumped over, "I'm… I'm just no good at all am I?"

"Hey, if being worse then me meant you're no good there'd be no good martial artists anywhere." He gave her his usual confident grin.

Akane stood back up, "Again." She slipped into her fighting stance.

Ranma nodded, and they continued. Each fight ended the same, with Akane pinned down. But she didn't stop, not yet. She felt his light touches run through her defense, and she realized where the holes where. Gaps she had never worried about before becoming glaring flaws that needed correction **now.** She began making attempts to fix them, block the strikes Ranma threw. It slowed her down, she had to really think about even basic attack and defense again. It would take much more than a single sparring session to fix her bad habits, she realized, but hopefully this was the first step of many. Finally Ranma stepped back and signaled that it was over.

It took all of Akane's will to not collapse onto her knees and return the bow he gave her. Her entire body felt stiff. Her limbs might as well be stone for how heavy they felt. Still, she couldn't remember feeling as happy as she did that moment. She somehow found the strength to run towards Ranma and give him the biggest hug she had ever given.

Ranma immediately stiffened at her touch. He looked around in a brief panic, before seeing that nobody else was in the dojo. He then tentatively raised his own arms up, and returned her embrace. She was sweaty and tired looking, but her smile as she looked up at him was somehow refreshing. "Thank you." She said, and started to lean closer to him. Ranma's eyes bugged out as he realized she was planning to kiss him. They were about to have their first real kiss!

"I, uh…." He tried to think of what to say, and so of course the reason he had started this sparring session came out of his mouth. "I thought you'd be better." He said, and in that single instant ruined the fragile mood.

A faint frown briefly formed. He supposed she didn't get too upset, she was still hugging him but a kiss wasn't in his future anymore. "What do you mean?"

"Err… ah… well.. you know. You're faster, and stronger, than you used to be. But your, ah, forms… attack and defense. They haven't improved much at all." Ranma said quickly, "I noticed it this morning. You're moving like I did two years ago, but you're fighting like I did nearly **five** years ago.

"I fight like a twelve year old!?"

"A twelve year old me!" Ranma said. "That's like, still really good! Just, you, know, not as good as you could be…" He hoped she accepted it.

Akane sighed, leaning against her chest, still hugging him. He felt her tension fade. "Sorry. My teacher isn't nearly as demanding as yours."

Ranma nodded, "Yeah. Well, maybe I can talk to Mr. Tendo. See if I can't convince him to step up your training."

Her eyes sparkled, "Really?"

"Sure thing." Ranma said, grinning.

"Oh thank you!" Akane cheered, leaning up and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. It wasn't a full blown First Kiss, but it was still something he'd remember. She finally released him, stepping back and lighting up the room. "I think I'm going to go take as bath now. I probably reek."

Ranma smirked, "Good idea. I'm going to be smelling like Tomboy for a week."

Akane stuck her tongue out at him before practically dancing out of the dojo.

* * *

Ranma found Soun reading the newspaper, chatting with Genma about some local news story or some other. His father was only half paying attention, being more engrossed in a book of Shogi puzzles. "Hey Mr. Tendo."

Soun glanced from behind his paper. "Evening Ranma. Is there something you need?"

"Yeah, I was sparring with Akane when-"

Soun's reaction was instant "What!? Did you hurt her!? Ranma! What did you do? She's delicate!"

"W-what? Mr. Tendo! I practiced with her, I didn't beat on her!" Ranma shouted in his defense, "Besides; Akane, delicate, really?"

Soun calmed down, a little. "Well I suppose as long as you were gentle with her… helping your fiancee with her work out is a fine thing to do young man."

"Her work out?" Ranma said, "Uh, Mr. Tendo, this isn't about her runs or something like that. I want to talk about Akane's training."

Genma, sensing an opportunity perked up, "Ah yes. Glad to see your taking an interest in the future of the School boy." He could picture it now, Ranma and Akane training tirelessly together. Soon, hormones would kick in, and then before anybody could blink wedding bells would be ringing!

Soun looked between the two Saotomes. "What do you mean by training?"

Ranma frowned, "Uh, Akane's training in the Anything Goes school of Martial Arts."

Soun looked at Ranma like he had said something confusing. "Akane doesn't have any training in the Anything Goes school."

There was a sudden and sharp silence.

"What?" Genma dropped his puzzle book, "What do you mean she doesn't have any training Tendo?"

"Why would I train Akane in Anything Goes?" Soun asked.

Genma and Ranma looked at each other, a brief unspoken communication flashed between father and son."Uh, Tendo… surely you must have at least one student?"

Soun's expression became distant, "Ah.. Saotome. I haven't had any students since my dear wife died. I just couldn't find the will to teach anymore. By the time I had recovered I had learned about Ranma here." He chuckled at a nostalgic memory, "I remember that Akane would always sneak into the dojo and watch my classes."

"But she… she's… the horde of boys… Kuno… you spar with her sometimes Mr. Tendo!"

Soun shrugged, "She likes to play in the dojo for some reason. Sometimes I humor her and exercise with her. Nothing serious, of course. You'll be careful when you work out with her won't you Ranma?"

"W-wait a minute Tendo!" Genma said, "Are you telling me that Akane has no formal training in the Martial Arts?"

"Why would she?" Soun asked.

It wasn't often that Genma Saotome was struck speechless.


	3. An Improper Education

Part 2: An Improper Education

Akane Tendo is self-taught.

Akane, a girl who could easily fight off dozens of opponents. A girl who could shatter concrete with a punch. A girl who had been quite capable fighting a giant monster dragon. A girl who could catch arrows out of the air.

It made no sense.

Ranma had met untrained people who thought they could fight just because they exercised a lot. Their movements were always clumsy and wild. Wannabe tough guys. Akane wasn't like that though. Her movements had the precision of a martial artist, a skilled one by the average person's measure.

"So you're absolutely sure you never taught her anything Tendo?" He heard Genma asked.

"Of course not Saotome. What kind of man would I be?" Soun asked. "I mean, would you put a daughter through the training you put Ranma through?"

Genma frowned. He was fairly sure he would, if she wanted it. Still, he suddenly realized that answering honestly might start an argument with his old friend. So he shook his head, "Can't say, don't have one Tendo."

Ranma grabbed Genma by the arm, "Come on Pops, we need to talk."

* * *

"She doesn't have a teacher Pops." Ranma whispered, "She thinks Mr. Tendo trains her, somehow. I guess she thinks those sparring sessions he humors her with are lessons?"

Genma shook his head, "That's a load of bull boy. There's no way she can have learned how to fight like that on her own."

"I don't get it either!" Ranma said, "Mr. Tendo did say she used to watch his classes. She must have picked up some stuff from there."

Genma groaned, "Maybe. Or maybe she's secretly having lessons from elsewhere."

"Akane isn't sneaky like that." Ranma snapped.

"Look, boy, I'm just trying to figure this out too." Genma looked over at Soun, who was back to reading his newspaper. "I don't get it. I guess he might have prefered a son to teach, but when he didn't have any why did he compromise the plan?"

This caught Ranma's attention. "What plan Pops?"

"Err, you know, the plan behind the engagement."

"You mean you had one beyond 'mooching off the Tendos?'"

Genma scowled, "Don't sass me boy. Of course I had a plan. You see, when we were studying under The Master he taught Tendo and me different branches of his school from what I could tell." He shook his head, remembering a problem that had long plagued his thoughts. "There has always been some missing link between the styles we learned. Tendo and I could never figure out more than hints of it though."

"So what? The old letch taught you only half of Anything Goes?" Ranma asked.

"That's right." Genma nodded, "After Tendo and I sealed the Master away we pondered how to complete our Arts… then it occurred to me! We would have our children marry. From there our heirs would teach in this dojo both branches, uniting the styles and hopefully completing it."

Ranma had to admit, it was actually a moderately thought out plan. "Huh. All this time I had thought the two of you cooked it up after a night of drinking."

"Well I did but that doesn't mean the plan isn't sound." Genma had the decency to look sheepish.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "But it sounds like Mr. Tendo isn't going along with it. I mean, he doesn't seem to care which Tendo I marry as long as it's one of them. He had no problem with," He shuddered for a second, "Nabiki marrying me until until she said she was going to sell the dojo." He thought back to the day he was introduced to the Tendos. "If the point of the engagement is to unite or complete Anything Goes he would have wanted me to marry the girl who knew it. Instead he just told me to pick one. Sheesh…"

Genma frowned in realization. He had assumed, at the time, that Soun's offer had been more of a formality. After all, it had been clear from the start that Akane was the only one of the sisters interested in the martial arts. Furthermore he knew his son and had quickly seen the spark of attraction Ranma immediately had towards Akane. But could Soun really not care? Why did he think the engagement existed? He would have to ask about this later. "You need to figure out what's up with Akane. Figure out who she's learning from."

Ranma nodded, "Sure Pops. I'll talk to her about it later. Maybe tomorrow after another sparring session." A goofy smile formed at the memory, "She'll be in a real good mood then."

Genma raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Son… what exactly happened earlier?"

The blush on Ranma's face made Genma smirk. "Ah, good job my boy. Wiinning your fiancee's affection. Why, I imagine soon enough I'll be sending out wedding invitations and- ow!"

Ranma pulled his fist away from Genma's head. "Don't push it Pops."

* * *

Akane noticed that come dinner both Ranma and Genma were giving her these odd glances. Ranma she could understand, but why was her future father-in-law looking over her? Maybe Ranma had said something good about her abilities to him. She let out a little smile, feeling an echo of that giddy rush of the idea that her training would soon be hitting a new level.

"How was school?" Nodoka asked the table, glancing at her son with a smile.

Ranma shrugged, "It was OK, I guess."

Nabiki chuckled, "Really Ranma? You say it was OK? After your poor fiancee got attacked?"

"What!?" Nodoka shouted, "Are you hurt?"

Akane rolled her eyes, glaring at Nabiki. Of course she only brings this up now because it might cause some trouble. "I'm fine Auntie. Those idiot boys couldn't lay a finger on me."

"Why were they attacking you!?" Nodoka asked

Akane sighed and explained Tatewaki Kuno and his stupid proclamation. "They gave up, eventually, when I got engaged to Ranma. But today Kuno somehow convinced them we broke up." Granted, it probably wasn't very difficult to convince them. Pretty much every single member of that sad group still had yet to get a girlfriend even in the year she's not been available.

"Akane's always been popular with boys Auntie." Kasumi added. "Some of her suitors were rather enthusiastic."

"And just where were you, Son, when this was going on?" Nodoka asked pointedly.

"I was watching her beat the crap out of them." Ranma said. "Did a good job too. Took them down real fast while not leaving any serious injuries." Akane beamed at his compliment.

Nodoka didn't seem to appreciate it quite as much. "That's a very poor showing Ranma. I'd expect a man to defend his fiancee."

Ranma instantly paled at those words. "B-but Mom! Akane could handle it, she wanted to handle it, and would have gotten pissed if I hadn't let her handle it!"

"I expect you to do the right thing if this happens again Ranma." Nodoka said.

"Auntie! I can fight my own battles." Akane protested.

Nodoka gave Akane a patronizing smile. "Now, now, Akane. You don't need to push yourself like that. It's your fiance's duty to protect you."

Akane clenched her teeth together."Look, Auntie-"

"Oh fine mom. If I think Akane needs help I'll give it to her." Ranma said quickly, cutting off Akane.

"What!?" Akane turned to Ranma in betrayal. "Ranma I can-" She was stopped by Ranma jabbing her in the side.

"I just want to calm down Mom OK? I won't think you need help in your own fights." He hissed quietly at her.

Akane still folded her arms in a huff, but didn't shout at him. She didn't like the idea that Ranma was even implying she could not take care of herself. She had been capable of taking care herself before Ranma showed up and still could after he had. Still, she saw that Nodoka seemed pacified by Ranma's comment. So with a final glare to let everybody know she was not happy with the turn this conversation took she went back to eating.

* * *

"Akane?"

Akane stopped opening the door to her room, glancing behind her to see Ranma. "What?" She had homework to do, and she was still a little miffed at her fiance for the dinner conversation.

"You, um, want to spar again, tomorrow?" He asked.

In an instant all traces of a bad mood vanished. "Really?" She asked.

Ranma blushed, forced to turn away from the innocent joy in Akane's eyes. "Y-yeah. I mean, it, ah, was kinda fun?"

"I'd love to!" Akane felt the giddy rush return. She completely forgot about Auntie's silly little words. Who cares what she thinks?. It was clear that her fiance appreciated her desires and abilities as a martial artist. She grinned slyly at him. "Don't think I'll hold back next time."

Ranma laughed at the challenging spark in her eyes, "Bring it on Akane. I'll take whatever you throw at me."

With a nod and a smile, Akane waved to him and headed into her room. She had homework to do, after all.

Once Akane was out of sight, Ranma sighed and leaned his head against her doorframe. Tomorrow was going to be rough. He would going to have to figure out everything Akane knew, and deduce how she knew it. Figure out how she put together her fighting style even without an actual teacher. Something told him she wasn't going to be near as happy at the end of the next session.

* * *

Their daily routine continued on. Morning practice, breakfast, traveling to school, and dealing with the events in Furinkan.

Ranma noted that today Akane looked particularly pleased, sauntering home with a bokken slung over her shoulder. He guessed she had reason to, for today she had helped him out. Not that he had needed the help, but it had been nice all the same.

It had started at lunch, the Principal had the gall to drug his melon bread! This, of course, was the prelude to him being encased in a giant pineapple for the purpose of shaving off his pigtail. He still smelled like fruit. Fortunately for his hair, before the Principal could do anything Akane appeared and brained him with the bokken she was now holding like a trophy. She then broke him out of the pineapple. Once Ranma was confirmed safe she and Ukyo then proceeded to bash the Principal until he was unconscious.. All in all a fairly normal day at Furinkan.

Ranma glanced down at the wooden sword in Akane's hand. "Hey, where'd you get that anyways?"

"This?" Akane held the bokken up, "While me and Ukyo were running in to rescue you Kuno showed up and tried to molest me. So I beat him up and took it." Akane gave the bokken a few swings with a smile. "Did you know he still thinks Ukyo's a boy?"

Ranma hid his laugh behind a cough, "Doesn't surprise me."

"You know, I've never seen you use a sword. Do you know how?" Akane asked.

Ranma didn't want to admit he really didn't. The Saotome School didn't really have any sword forms. He knew how to use a Bo, Nunchaku, and Tonfa, but Genma had never taught him anything about bladed weapons. He had seen Soun use a Naginata a few times… maybe the Tendo School had those? "Do you?" He asked, passing the question on to her. Hopefully she wouldn't ask him again.

Akane grinned, "Yup!" She held up the bokken, "I remember my dad teaching how to use them. It was a bit hard…. He really only taught those when I was little, and the dojo didn't have any bokken or shinai that a little kid could use."

"So what'd you do?" Ranma asked, Akane not noticing his frown, caught up in her childhood reminiscence. He knew for a fact that there were practice weapons sized for children. If the Tendo Dojo didn't have any that meant that Soun had never taught children.

"I saved up my allowance and bought a toy katana." She giggled, "The other students found it pretty cute, I think."

"And to think, all this time I thought little girls were supposed to play with dolls." Ranma said dryly.

Akane bopped him on the head with the bokken. "I had dolls too."

Ranma smirked, "And I bet you pretended to make them fight."

Akane's face turned red, and Ranma knew he was right on the money. "And here I thought that you grew into a tomboy. Nope, you were just born one."

"Ranma!" Akane shouted, swinging the sword at him. Ranma laughed and began to run. Dodging her swings. "Hold still and take it like a man!"

Ranma landed in a puddle, a brief splash later and she stuck her tongue out. "Nope!"

* * *

By the time they got home and Akane in her gi, she found herself practically bouncing. Ranma was going to spar with her again soon, and maybe regularly from now on. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Finally she started up her practice early.

Memories of watching her father teach drifted through her mind. Immediately she went into the oldest form she knew, the first one she remembered seeing. Doing the forms right had always been the single hardest part for her. She knew she was in some ways clumsy, fighting against that constantly to get the footwork right had been a trial. Still, she had felt so proud when she had finally gotten it right. A few minutes of this helped calm her down, simply lose herself in the motions.

Punch kick, raise a block here, throw out a quick jump. Step back pull forward. A forceful dance around the dojo, Akane found her worries fading as she lost herself in the form. Her focus was up so fight that she didn't even notice Ranma enter. She just kept on moving until she finished the form. Then she finally noticed she had an audience. "Oh! Ranma… uhh…"

"Pretty good." Ranma said. "Hey, Akane, why not show me the rest of the forms you've learned?"

"Y-you want to see them?"

Ranma gave her a smile, "Come on Akane, can't be that hard."

"I know.. it's just…" She couldn't help but think about her own slow, clumsy movements compared to the supernatural grace Ranma nearly always displayed. Well, except when he was on the ice. A grin formed on her face at the memory. They hadn't gone skating ever since that match with that crazy kleptomaniac girl and the pervert who kissed Ranma. She filed that away for a later plan. She regained her focus, remembering that she wanted Ranma to keep this sudden interest in her martial arts ability. "Sure, I can show you."

She had already finished the first, so she moved on to the second, she closed her eyes as she started the dance. Her mind drifted back to when her Mother was still alive, and her Father was much happier and taught the Tendo School in the Dojo to countless students.

* * *

"Good Afternoon Sensei!" The class said before bowing in unison. They were all new, today was the first day of the Summer break and when young students most often started their lessons.

Akane had been watching the classes, seeing the advanced students do moves that made her stare in awe at the grace and power they displayed. Finally, at the head of the dojo, respected and beloved by all, was her Father. The Martial Arts Master and the strongest man in the world to the five year old girl.

"Today is the day you begin walking down a path of self-improvement. Through the Martial Arts, you will find more than just physical strength. It is not about throwing a punch. It is about gaining self control, strength of will, and gaining the drive to help yourself and others. "

Akane eagerly nodded along with what her dad was saying. Sitting in the corner of the dojo, she watched as he began guiding the young students through the beginner moves. She wasn't in a gi like the rest of the students. Instead she was wearing a cute pair of overalls that Mommy had gotten for her birthday. Still, she could move in them, and her father was right. She would improve herself. Sure, all the boys even in the beginner class were five to six years older than her, but she was Akane Tendo! The daughter of the great Master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes! She stood up, keeping a careful eye on her Father. She watched as he demonstrated the first part of the first form of the Tendo School. With a determined clench of her teeth, Akane began imitating her father's movements the best she could. She saw the mistakes the new students were making. Their failures to perfectly imitate her father. She saw her own failures in their movements clenched her fists together, and began to force herself to improve.

* * *

A smile was on her face as she finished the last form she had learned. Back then, when the Dojo had students, she had been loved by them. She had practically been the mascot of the Tendo Dojo.

She looked over at Ranma, who had been examining her thoughtfully. "You done?"

Akane nodded. "How… how did I do?"

"How many?" He asked.

"How many…?" Akane repeated. "Um, well… nine." She blushed, looking down. "Sorry… you know Dad stopped teaching me."

"Only nine?" Ranma asked, incredulous. "There are twenty five Forms in the Anything Goes School Akane, at least, in the Saotome branch. I can't imagine all of them being unique ones cooked up by Pops."

Akane felt a rush of heat, "Well excuse me! I told you my dad he… he stopped having classes."

Ranma shook his head, "Akane… did you take his classes?"

"O-of course I did!" Akane clenched her fists. What was he getting at? "Are you saying I'm so bad that you don't think I was taught anything!? Is that it, Ranma? Did you put me through this to laugh at someone so much worse than you!?"

Ranma frowned, "No, Akane, that's not it. I just…" He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He might as well let it out now. "I talked to Mr. Tendo, about your training."

"Yes?" Akane asked, wondering why this entire conversation was bringing out such a sinking feeling in her.

"He said, well… he said you don't have any, Akane." Ranma looked up, staring straight into her eyes. "Me and Pop talked to him about it. He never, once, thought you were training or practicing. Ever."

"What?"

"All this, practicing you do…. all this time in the dojo? That was you. You were never trained in Martial Arts, Akane. You just… picked up stuff."


	4. The Future of Anything Goes

Part 3: The Future of Anything Goes

The Dojo was separated from the rest of the house, and reasonably soundproofed.

"**What!?"**

This made how the various residents currently in the living room looked up at hearing Akane's scream fairly impressive.

* * *

Ranma winced at the point blank screech. "Look Akane…"

"No. Way. No way in hell Ranma. I may not be as good as you but that doesn't mean I'm an untrained idiot!" Akane was almost in his face, "I can handle myself just fine!"

Ranma took a step away from Akane, she clearly was **not** in a good mood right now. Ranma's mind ran through ways to get her to calm down. "Look, Akane, I'm not insulting you…"

"Then what are you doing!?"

"I'm telling you what Mr. Tendo told me!" Ranma said, he clenched his fists. "Listen, Akane, you, um, ah!" He looked down at the belt on her Gi. "What's your ranking?"

He instantly saw Akane's expression change, and knew he had hit a sore spot. "I, well, you see…"

"I'm 5th Dan." Ranma said, "Would be higher if the old freak didn't refuse to approve my promotions…" He muttered.

"I… Dad never… formally…" Akane whimpered.

"Yeah. He never gave you any rank in the school did he?" Ranma said, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Akane, I'm not saying your bad. Hell, since your dad **didn't **do any sort of teaching for you that means you've got to have talent. A lot of talent, to get as good as you are without any real teacher, OK?"

Akane looked up at Ranma tears staring to well up in her eyes, "But… I took his classes, and it's not like your dad does much teaching for you…"

Ranma shook his head, "Akane, that's because Pops has taught me pretty much everything he knows. If I learn something new it needs to be on my own, because he doesn't know it."

"I… I can't believe it, Ranma. I… I've always wanted to be a Martial Artist, as long as I can remember." She wiped the half formed droplets from her eyes, "I need to go." Without another word she stepped out of the dojo.

Ranma sighed. Akane was going to confront her father. It would **not **be pretty.

* * *

Soun Tendo was not a particularly perceptive man. His method of introducing his daughters a potential husband - informing them he exists mere minutes before he showed up having never met him before - shows a lot about his mindset. Avoid confrontation whenever and as long as possible. As long as they're not complaining too loudly assume everything is fine. As such, when Soun noticed his youngest daughter entering the house with a dark cloud hovering over her his first thought was if he could blame her fiancee for her foul mood. Then he noticed that Ranma was soberly following her, and Akane's gaze was locked on to him. Soun quickly reached the conclusion that it was time to go settle some Town Council business.

However, when he stood up ready to leave, Genma of all people moved to stop him. "Going somewhere Tendo?"

"Err… well…"

"Dad!" Akane called out, and Soun winced. He wracked his memory for something that could put Akane in such a dour mood, but couldn't think of anything.

Retreat had failed, somehow, so he supposed he would have to see what was bothering his daughter. Hopefully it wasn't anything too serious. Or worse, some girl issue that his long departed wife could have handled. "Yes, Akane? Is something the matter?"

"Dad…" Akane stopped a short distance in front of him, the extensive nervous. "It's about, well, the School."

Soun's expression instantly brightened, "I see! Yes! Don't worry Akane, I'll call a priest and we can get you married right away!"

Akane's jaw dropped, "Dad! No! This isn't about my engagement!"

Soun stopped his preemptive celebration. What was she talking about?

"D-Daddy…" Akane whimpered, "I… I'm a Martial Artist, right? I mean… I… I've been practicing for years, right? You can see that. Can't you? R-Ranma says that… that you've never trained me."

Soun stared at his daughter. "Akane… what?" He didn't notice the dawning hope. "What… what on earth game you the silly idea that I'd train you?" Nor did he notice the hope crashing down.

By this point Nabiki and Kasumi had noticed the conversation. Kasumi looked almost as surprised as Akane. "Father…? What do you mean?"

Nabiki glanced at her two sisters, "Really? You two never noticed? Daddy never trained girls when he was teaching. Really, I thought it was pretty obvious."

"But- but…" Akane tried to stammer out, staring at her father, silently begging for answers.

Soun frowned, "Oh dear. I can't beleive I missed this. Giving you the wrong impression all these years… I never should have let you watch the classes."

"Let me watch…?" Akane quietly squeaked out.

Soun nodded. "The Dojo is really no place for a young lady. But your dear mother… she said it was harmless." A faint smile formed at the memory of his wife. "She said you admired me more than Kasumi and Nabiki. I have to admit, I did enjoy showing off to my daughter…"

Akane choked back a sob. "But… I…. you can't be serious… I've... "

Nabiki smirked at Akane, "Well, this is a shock. All this time I thought you were just blustering. You really thought you were a trained fighter? Really?" She could hardly believe it. This would provide **weeks **of amusement. Watching her little sister's ego deflate would be an incredible sight.. And how much money would her rivals pay to learn she was _completely untrained._ It hadn't even occurred to her to sell that info because it had seemed so obvious. But judging by the look on Ranma's face her little sister had managed to fool more then herself.

That was enough for Akane, she couldn't hold it in any longer. With a cry the tears started falling. It all began to crumble around her. Within an instant Ranma was there, and she roughly grabbed him by the shirt. Her sobs were muffled by his shirt, but everyone could still hear them.

Soun suddenly felt very small as Ranma seemed to have gained the ability to murder him with a glare. "Uh… Saotome?" He turned to his old friend.

He saw instead a panda instead holding a sign. "_You'll have to handle this yourself Tendo."_ After all, the one man better at avoiding conflict then Soun was Genma Saotome.

"Father. I can't believe you've been leading on Akane all this time." Kasumi said, with a slight frown and her tone disappointed. It was like frothing, murderous rage from anyone else.

"You're going to make up for Akane starting **now **Mr. Tendo." Ranma said, holding his fiancee closely.

Akane peeked out from Ranma's shirt to look at him. Soun realized that he needed to do something. He had clearly messed up. "Akane…"

"Yes Dad?"

"I'm… I'm sorry." Soun said, "I should have…"

"Yes?" Akane asked, letting go of Ranma.

"I should have never let you get hurt by this." Soun shook his head sadly, "I should have been more attentive to you. Letting you get such a wrong impression was a mistake. I should have made it clear that-" He couldn't say any more because Akane seemed to break. She ran upstairs, a final frustrated scream echoing through the house.

Soun looked around at the people in the room. Nabiki was smirking, Kasumi was frowning, Ranma was still glaring at him, and Genma had procured a ball from somewhere and was playing with it. Something told him he should go eat out for dinner tonight. Somethings girls just freaked out over the strangest things. Even after having three daughters, he was fairly sure it was impossible for a man to understand a woman.

* * *

Akane found herself settling into a familiar emotional state. One that had long helped her during trying times of her life. When her mother had died, when Kuno made that **stupid** proclamation after stalking her through middle school, when the feelings that Ranma awakened in her grew too much for her to handle.

Anger, she let out her frustration at the world, at her father, at everything he life had thrown at her. In her room, with the door locked, she pulled out weights and started lifting. When this didn't calm her down she pulled out her shinai and started going through the motions in her closed off room. Swing. Thrust. Cut. Draw. Sheath. Lose herself in the forms of Martial Arts like she always had when needed.

But then, mid swing, she stopped. Did it even count? Was what she was doing even Martial Arts? Her father had never even seen her as one. He didn't even want her to **think **she was one. Her anger drained, replaced by a growing antipathy. She fell back onto her bed, the practice sword falling to the ground with a clatter.

"I… I was just a little girl playing pretend, wasn't I?" She said to nobody in particular. A little tomboy playing at being a martial artist.

She thought back to the handful of times that, thanks to some weird magical artifact stumbling over her, she had suddenly gotten strong. Nobody was ever happy about her newfound abilities. Nobody ever **let **her be strong, even for a little bit. Instead everybody wanted her to give it up. They all wanted her to stop. Her father, her sisters, even Ranma. Maybe now he was respecting her, or perhaps he had gotten tired of her playing and was this his way of finally putting her down.

She bit back more tears. Maybe she should just stop embarrassing herself, stop pretending to be a fighter. Just be the housewife her father was obviously expecting her to be. Marry Ranma, make sure to have a son or two, and then spend the rest of her life cooking and cleaning. Let Ranma bring honor to the Tendo Dojo, attract the students, teach them. She'd just fade into the background.

She wanted to find the anger to fight back the black pit settling into her stomach, but it just wouldn't come.

* * *

"Ranma?" Kasumi said, placing a shoulder on the tense young man. Ranma had immediately followed his fiancee, but had come back down when he found the door to her room locked. The sounds of Akane swinging weaponry around and growling had encouraged him to wait for a while. At least until she's not holding a weapon. "Are you OK?"

Ranma gave Kasumi a smile, "Ah I'm fine. More worried about Akane. Knowing her she's going to want to break something."

"I don't think she'll want to break you, at least." Kasumi said, "No, I think this is a problem that Father's going to have to solve."

Ranma rolled his eyes at that. As long as he had been here at the Tendo Household, he had yet to see Soun actually **solve** any problems. Usually he passed the buck to him. Still, this was an issue between Akane and her father. Maybe it was his place to stay out of it.

Genma was, of course, immediately unreliable. The panda that was his father had procured some bamboo and was staying out of the mess. Soun was sitting at the table, he had pulled out a cigarette and was taking slow drags. "Hey, Mr. Tendo."

Soun looked up from his smoke, noticing that Ranma did not look **quite** as murderous as he had a few minutes ago. "Yes, Son?"

Ranma sat down next to Soun, "I was just, ah, thinking. About Anything Goes and all that stuff."

Soun smiled, "Ah yes good! Now, Son, good to see that you're taking your duties as the heir to the Anything Goes-"

"Saotome School of Anything Goes." Ranma said, interrupting Soun.

"Pardon?"

"I'm the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Mr. Tendo. I don't know anything about the Tendo School." Ranma said, slowly trying to explain. "I can't teach a style I don't know. So wh- **if **I marry Akane I'll only be able to teach the Saotome School. But this is, well, the Tendo Dojo and all Mr. Tendo. How are you expecting **your **style to be passed on?"

Soun laughed and slapped Ranma on the back. "Oh is that what you're worried about? That's no problem Son. Once you take charge of the Dojo, I'll teach you the Tendo School. Then you can teach the completed form of Anything Goes."

"Isn't that a bit… slow?" Ranma said. "It'll take a while before I'm good enough to teach it…"

"I'm perfectly willing to be patient Son. " Soun said.

Ranma groaned, "Err, Mr. Tendo. I'd have my hands full just teaching the Saotome School. Wouldn't it be, ah, easier, if there was somebody who could teach the Tendo School?"

"Nonsense! You're a bright boy. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Soun continued.

Ranma wondered if he was dodging the point or actually couldn't understand it. "Look, Mr. Tendo, I'm not going to teach everything by myself." He decided maybe it was time to be a bit more direct. "I'm sure that there's somebody you know who's interested and **talented** who you could teach the Tendo style to…"

Soun frowned, "I'm afraid I don't Ranma. Maybe if my wife hadn't passed on I'd have some students who had advanced to your level… sadly I just didn't have the heart for it for some years."

His eye was starting to twitch. "Look, Mr. Tendo! I'm not going to learn the Tendo Style from you!"

Soun gasped, looking at Ranma like he had just slapped him. "What? Why? What brought this on Ranma?"

"There's somebody, Mr. Tendo, who needs to learn it a lot more than me!" Ranma shouted. Now he knew it, the man had to be deliberately missing the point. "Come on!?"

"R-Ranma I don't know what you're talking about…" Soun recoiled from Ranma's sudden explosion.

"Akane you moron! Teach **her!"**

Soun stepped back, "What? Ranma, has the curse warped your mind or something? The Martial Arts are not something for a girl to study."

Ranma grabbed Soun's collar, "Listen Mr. Tendo! I'm **not** going to learn the Tendo style from you, ever. So unless you want that branch to die, you'd better start teaching somebody it! And as far as I can see there's only one viable option!" He took a few deep breaths, letting go of Soun.

To Ranma's predictable disgust, the man began to cry. "Saotome! Listen to this ungrateful boy! He's going to kill the school!"

"Oh no Mr. Tendo. Me and Pops are in full agreement here." Ranma folded his arms. "If you want your plans for the School to pass Mr. Tendo, you'd better find a student and fast."

Genma, behind him, held up a sign saying "_He's right."_

Soun gave the panda a betrayed look. "Saotome…" He wiped his tears, "I understand. For whatever reason, Ranma, you'll gladly let the Tendo School die…" He clenched his fists in determination. "I see now, that I'll have to bring myself to fight for its own future. Preserve the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts!" Ranma and Genma both nodded in approval, "Even though I dislike the idea, I have no choice!" The two Saotomes broke out fans and began cheering. "I'll have to…" They leaned in closer, "...search for a talented young man to teach the Tendo School to."

Ranma punched Soun in the face.


	5. Lesson Plans

Part 4: Lesson Plans

Akane knew it was Ranma knocking on her door. He was the only one who ever knocked. She glanced at the door. She considered telling him to leave her alone, but she had been sulking in her room for an hour. "Come in." She said, and heard the click of Ranma unlocking her door. She looked up from her bed at him entering. He walked over, pulled up a chair and sat down on it backwards. His arms draped over the back of the seat.

"I always had a feeling your dad was an idiot." Ranma said.

Akane couldn't help but let out a giggle. "He's… he's always wanted what's best for us."

Ranma snorted, "Yeah and I'm sure Pops wanted what's best for me, most of the time. He's still an idiot though."

Akane let out her breath, laying flat and staring at the ceiling. "Ranma?"

"Hmm?"

"What should I do?" Akane didn't want to look at him, letting him see her heating face. "I… I don't know. I don't want to **just **be a housewife, Ranma." She wanted to hide under the bed. They hadn't really talked about their married future much. "I'm not a good cook, housework bores me to tears, and I-"

"Hey come on Akane! Don't get down like that!" Ranma said, "Moping isn't like you. Come on? Where's the macho tomboy who punches her problems?" He suddenly stood up, running over to the door and locking it again. Next he pulled the curtains over her window. He opened her closet and peered inside, finally he checked under her bed. Having confirmed the room was secure, he took a few deep breaths. Once he was ready, he sat down on her bed. He then slowly reached out, and placed his hand over hers. He gave her a reassuring smile, "Ah come on, it'll be fine. If I… ah… just errrrr wanted a housewife. I'd go for Kasumi, she likes doing that stuff. Instead I want, ahh..."

Akane turned her hand over, giving his hand a squeeze. "Thank you."

Ranma, red faced, nodded. The two sat in silence for several minutes. Then Akane shifted, within a moment her head was resting on his lap, smiling up at her fiance. Ranma began to sweat, but he didn't want her to move. Slowly, one hand went up automatically and began stroking her hair.

Akane closed her eyes in satisfaction, "So, what should I do then? You… you like me being a Martial Artist, I like being one. But if Dad won't teach me…" She decided to snuggle a bit more into Ranma's lap. "Could you teach me, Ranma?"

Ranma sighed, "Pop's not going to let me teach anybody until after I graduate High School."

"So what? I wait a year?" Akane asked, "I… guess I could. Just keep up by myself."

"No." Ranma said, "I'm not going to let you waste your time any more. You need a teacher." He shook his head, "You getting as good as you are by yourself is a miracle Akane. But I can tell you're going to need one to progress."

Akane sighed, "Is it that bad?" She thought for a moment about one of her friends, "What about Ryoga? I can't imagine him finding lessons, so he has to be self taught… right? He's almost as good as you."

Ranma's expression instantly darkened. "No. No way in hell am I letting you learn like Ryoga." He cut off her question, "Look, Akane, I guess Ryoga technically doesn't have a teacher. But in reality? You spend your life wandering the wilderness, alone, with wild animals and all sorts of monsters. Yeah, you might get as tough as him… or you might end up dead." He gave her a smirk. "Really is says more about how awesome I am that I'm soooo much better then him with a teacher not nearly as harsh."

Akane rolled her eyes at her fiance's ego. "So what then?"

"Well, this isn't the only dojo in town, you know. I'm sure once you show your moves to the Senseis there they'll be begging you to be a student." Ranma began slowly running all of his fingers through her hair. Akane released a soft breath, relishing his touch. He continued to gently stroke the soft strands. He didn't know what it was about her hair, but it was always so much softer than his, even when he was a girl.

"Mmmm…" Akane voiced her appreciation. "Tomorrow then we'll start looking… what about money?"

"We'll think of something. Worst case we'll be some Sensei's janitor."

Akane reached up, softly stroking Ranma's cheek. "OK. You thought this through huh?"

Ranma gave a shrug and a grin. "Hey, it's not like I haven't cooked up back-up plans for learning in case something happens to Pop." After all, any day now Genma's debt's might catch up with him and it would be pretty hard if the Master of the Saotome School was in prison. He took a moment to savor the feeling of her hand. Slowly, almost unconsciously, he began to lean down.

The doorknob to Akane's room rattled, "Akane?" Kasumi said from behind the locked door.

Akane's head actually stayed suspended in air for a brief moment, not having time to fall as Ranma rushed out from under her. He was in her closet behind a closed door before anybody had time to blink. She sighed, finally getting off her bed and unlocking her door for the rest of the family. "Yes, Kasumi?" She said.

Kasumi gave Akane her usual supportive smile. "Would you like to come down for dinner?"

"Sure Kasumi." Akane looked down at herself, she was still in her gi. "Just give me a minute to change."

Kasumi nodded, "Sure thing Akane." She shut the door and headed back downstairs.

Akane opened the door to her closet. Ranma sheepishly handed her a dress. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep the door shut." She said, shutting him back in the closet.

* * *

Akane couldn't help but feel nervous.

Another day of school had ended, and now she and Ranma were heading off to the other nearby dojos to hopefully convince one of the Masters to take her own as a student.

"Now, there's three within walking distance." Ranma said.

Akane nodded, "Yes. There's the Nakahara Dojo, they teach Kenjutsu, the Go Dojo for Judo, and the Yano Dojo for Karate."

Ranma gave her a grin. "Familiar with them?"

She smiled back, "Of course, Master Nakahara often sparred with Dad a lot back when he was still teaching." Akane couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at her family's legacy, even after she learned she had been denied it. "The Tendo Dojo has been a pillar of the community for decades."

This nearly stopped Ranma in his tracks, the sudden realization of just **what **he was marrying into. Akane and Nabiki were both incredibly popular at school and near everyone came to the youngest when there was a problem there. He didn't think there was a housewife in town who wasn't friends with Kasumi. Finally, Soun Tendo was on the Town Council, and he thought back to all the times some strange incident occurred… it was the **Tendos** who they approached for help.

His mind unwillingly drifted to the future, the image of him being in Soun's place when trouble came around forming. He shook his head and tried to force down the blush. Another reason to get Akane up to speed. No way was he going to deal with all that responsibility by himself. He'd deal with the really interesting problems, and leave the only mildly interesting ones to Akane. The boring ones? He'd figure it out later.

The closest one was the Nakahara Dojo, unlike the Tendo Dojo it was set apart from any living space. Fortunately it was a break in the dojo's class schedule, and Akane had made sure that Ranma called ahead of time. They were quickly let inside Nakamura's office. He was an older man around Soun's age, his hair greying.

"Ah, good afternoon Akane. It's been some time. How is Soun?" Nakamura said, giving her a smile. There was was a small kettle and some cup, tea ready to be poured

Akane bowed, "Afternoon Master Nakamura. Dad's fine." She subtly elbowed Ranma and he gave a slight bow as well.

"Ah, you must be Akane's fiance, Ranma Saotome, correct? You've been making quite a stir in town the past year." Nakamura said, giving Ranma a nod.

Ranma grinned at the appraisal. "Ah people just like messing with me."

Nakamura poured some tea for the two. "So what brings you here Akane? Is Soun finally calling in that favor? Thought he'd send you in to butter me up?"

Akane laughed politely and shook her head. "No, it's, well, I was wondering if you might take me on as a student. I'm interested in learning Kenjutsu."

"Trust me, she's whacked me over the head with a shinai or bokken enough to show some real talent." Ranma added. Akane elbowed him again.

"Hmmm…" Nakamura frowned, "Akane, I'm fairly sure that your family school has sword forms, no?"

Akane looked down into her tea, "Even so, I'm interested in learning from you." She said. Akane knew she would never admit that her father was flat out **refusing** to teach her.

Nakamura shook his head, "I know Soun, he's a skilled swordsman, shouldn't you learn from your father?"

"Akane's learned everything Mr. Tendo's taught her." Ranma interrupted, "She wants to learn more."

There was a brief silence, Akane nervously took a sip of her tea. Nakamura looked between the two. "I've known Soun a long time, I'd think that the daughter of a respected Dojo Master like himself would be better off learning from him. I doubt you've mastered the Tendo School at the age of seventeen Akane."

"Hey now, what's wrong with-" Ranma began to say, but Akane interrupted him with another discrete elbow to the ribs.

"Don't embarrass me." She hissed.

A few more minutes passed of small talk, Akane not bringing up the topic of lessons again. Finally, once she and Ranma had finished their tea, she stood up and bowed. "Thank you for your time Master Nakamura."

"Any time." He said, "Say hello to Soun to me."

"Will do." Akane nodded stiffly, walking out of the dojo with Ranma stuck trailing behind.

* * *

Ranma quickly realized from the next dojo they visited that maybe Soun being a "pillar of the community" wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Soun was popular and well known, especially in the local Martial Arts community. Even with his "sabbatical" from teaching formal classes, he was still well respected and liked. The pattern held for the next two dojo masters they met. There'd be pleasant, familiar greetings. These were all men Akane knew through their interactions with her father. There'd be light conversation, some old in jokes and references to past events. Then Akane would broach the topic of lessons, and things would change. It would become a little awkward.

It was well known that the Soun practiced the **Tendo** School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. A family style of Kenpo that Soun had learned and adapted from previous schools in his youth mixed with the lessons taught by Happosai. The fact that the Anything Goes school was passed down the family line made it different than other martial arts styles. Akane, being the only one of Soun's children to practice Martial Arts, was seen as his student and heir to the Tendo legacy. As such the dojo masters, who all knew Soun and had worked with him, did not want to risk offending him.

After all, if Akane was to learn from another master, that meant that her father wasn't good enough. That he had failed in her training. The fact that Soun wasn't teaching Akane and she wasn't his heir was something that, Ranma knew, Akane did not want to admit. It would make both herself and her father look bad. Her father for completely ignoring her daughter, and her for the implications that something is wrong with her if a noted and respected Master like Soun Tendo did not think she was worth teaching.

It was the fourth dojo, the one they had to hop on the train to reach, that convinced Ranma that it was best to head home.

"A dojo is no place for a young lady." The old man, the oldest of the masters that they had visited, said out of hand.

Ranma had immediately grabbed Akane's arm and stood up, "Well then sorry for your time Sir!" He said quickly before dragging Akane away. Because he knew that, with the mounting frustration she had been building up, that she was a minute away from attacking him.

Outside, he stepped back as Akane screamed.

"Is there nobody in Tokyo who can teach me!?" She said, "This is getting ridiculous!"

"I think we should head home. It's almost dinner time." Ranma suggested, wincing as she glared at him.

"What? Giving up already?" She said.

"No! Just, you know, we can look more later. We'll have all summer to find somebody once school ends. And who knows, maybe something will pop up!"

Ranma watched as Akane's anger deflated. He was grateful that he had, again, calmed her down. He had to admit, he was getting pretty good at it!

"Worst comes to worst, I can ask Pops. He has connections I bet." Ranma said. "Probably make me pay for them in blood or something…"

Akane giggled at that thought, "Nah. He'll just ask for your servings of dinner."

"Or maybe try and get us married again."

"I call the tux this time."

"H-hey! I'm a guy!" Ranma pouted, but could see Akane's mood improving, slightly.

"Well you do call me a tomboy, after all." Akane said.

"Tomboys are still girls." Ranma protested.

"Well I'm glad you finally admit I'm a girl Ranma." Akane poked him on the chest, "You're right, let's go home." She took his hand, "We'll figure something out, right?"

* * *

Nodoka smiled as she finished the details on the evening's dinner. It was so nice to be able to cook for more people after years of living alone.

She had taken the reigns of cooking tonight, since Kasumi had been a bit distracted. It would seem that Akane and Soun had a fight about some issue or the other. Nodoka didn't quite know all the details, but it seemed to bother Kasumi as well. Still, it wasn't her business.

"We're home!" Nodoka heard Akane announce from the kitchen. Nodoka's smile widened as she knew that her son was home now. A minute later Akane and Ranma walked past the kitchen, Akane heading upstairs to her room. Ranma, meanwhile, noticed her cooking and walked over. "Hey Mom, you need any help?"

Nodoka did love how Ranma always seemed interested in helping her in whatever way he could. It was sweet. "Well, could you watch the rice? Dinner will be done shortly." It didn't, not really. But Nodoka figured that it would be enough for him to feel like he helped.

"Ah, sure." Ranma said, before heading over to the cooker and looking over it. It didn't take Nodoka long to see that something was bothering her son. His posture was distracted, and he kept glancing out towards the stairs. It dawned on Nodoka that it was probably something about his fiancee that was bothering him. Well, as his mother she felt like guiding him through girl problems was her duty.

"Is something bothering you Ranma?" Nodoka asked.

Instantly she saw the bluster, "N-No way Mom. I'm fine."

Nodoka chuckled, "Now Ranma, you can talk to your mother about these things you know?"

Ranma blushed and mumbled into the rice cooker. "Ah… well, it's about Akane Mom."

"Did you two have another fight?" Nodoka asked, a bit concerned. Ranma and Akane were very lively. Sometimes this lead to Akane brushing up against Ranma's ego. Still, she saw them caring more often than clashing, and Akane was such a sweet girl. If a little rough around the edges.

"Ah… no. We didn't fight Mom." Ranma said quickly. "It's, uh, it's about her martial arts training. You know?" Ranma asked.

Nodoka nodded in understanding, "Oh, don't worry about that dear."

"Huh-" Ranma said.

"Now, I have to admit, Akane's a bit tomboyish. That boyish hairstyle, her getting into fights and all that. Goodness me hearing she got into fights at school before she got engaged to you…" Nodoka shook her head, "Well, a girl without a mother in her life … she can't really help herself, you know."

"She actually had-"

"But don't worry dear." Nodoka patted her son on the shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "You've seen what a sweet girl under all that she is. And she's been growing out her hair now. I'm sure by the time you marry her she'll have grown out of those silly habits. Her cooking's improved greatly, you know? All she needed was a good instructor." She felt a bit of pride in that statement, having been Akane's tutor. "She'll make a great wife." She realized in giving her son comfort she had been ignoring the dinner. "Oh! Excuse me!" She turned back to the oven, thus completely ignoring the frown that sprouted on Ranma's face.

By the time she could turn back to her son, he had plastered a small smile on to his face. "Uh, sure Mom." Rama said. "I, uh, think I'll go do homework with Akane." He moved out of the kitchen, heading upstairs.

Nodoka just smiled at her son's retreat. She was so happy to have him back in her life. Still, maybe it was time for Akane to get some more bridal training.


End file.
